Louis Johnson (April 13, 1955 – May 21, 2015) – Ain't We Funkin' Now (1978)

For the Brothers Johnson's third LP Blam!!, legendary bassist Louis "Thunder-Thumbs" Johnson co-wrote its opening cut funk explosion, produced by Quincy Jones.

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Louis Johnson aka “Thunder-Thumbs” of the Brothers Johnson was an incredibly talented bassist, songwriter and vocalist.

He and his older brother George were born in Los Angeles and both originally played the guitar, but Louis switched to bass after falling in love with the sound of an acoustic mariachi bass called the guitarrón that he heard around L.A.  In high school, Louis, George and their oldest brother Tommy formed a band with their cousin Alex Weir called The Johnson Three Plus One, and performed at other area high schools, once opening for The Supremes.

In 1971 they decided to add a keyboardist, and auditioned Rene Moore, one of Louis’ friends (later to become half of the duo Rene & Angela), who took them to her friend Billy Preston’s house to play on his keyboards.  He came home while they were jamming and was so impressed with George’s guitar work and Hendrix-esque look (he was rocking a huge Afro and wearing a flag shirt on that day) that he invited George to play with his band on a European tour.

This broke up The Johnson Three Plus One, but before long George returned to the States and taught Billy Preston’s whole set to Louis.  When Preston’s bassist abruptly quit, George recommended they audition Louis at an upcoming gig, who blew Preston away during the sound check because he knew every song.  Sly Stone and his brother Freddie Stewart came to that show, and afterwards they were impressed enough to invite the brothers to hang with them and Preston in their mobile home.  By night’s end, Louis was officially in Billy Preston’s band.  Louis and George were 16 and 18 years old at the time.

The brothers toured with Preston for two years, and appeared on his 1972 Music Is My Life LP, co-writing two songs for the album. They also played on his first #1 hit “Will It Go Round In Circles,” performing the track live on Ellis Haizlip’s Soul! public broadcasting television show in a memorable appearance on February 28, 1973. In the same set, they also laid down an incendiary version of Preston’s great message song “The Bus (Is Coming).” Louis and George wrote 250 songs of their own while with Preston before quitting later in 1973 to form the Brothers Johnson.

One day in 1975, George and Louis visited Stevie Wonder at the Record Plant to audition for his backing band Wonderlove.  Stevie was in studio B, and Quincy Jones was in studio C that day.  When he heard the brothers laying down some tremendous funk, he came in and stayed for awhile.  Then he whispered something in Stevie’s ear and walked out.  An hour later, two of Quincy’s assistants appeared.  Stevie told them Quincy wanted to work with and develop them as artists, and that was the start of their collaboration.

The brothers played on Quincy’s next LP Mellow Madness (1975), which included four songs they wrote or co-wrote.

They joined the stellar backing band Quincy had assembled, including Harvey Mason on drums, flutist Hubert Laws, Funk Brother guitarist Melvin “Wah Wah Watson” Ragin, Ralph MacDonald on percussion, and brothers Dave and Don Grusin on keyboards.

Quincy became manager and mentor to the Brothers Johnson, and produced their first five albums.  Look Out for #1, their first, was released on A&M in 1976 and featured the #1 R&B jam “I’ll Be Good To You.” The LP went platinum, a feat they duplicated with their sophomore effort, Right On Time (1977).

Blam!!, their third album with Quincy at the controls, was released in 1978 and cost between $200,000 and $300,000 to record. It was a substantial sum for the time.  Guest musicians included Harvey Mason, Larry Carlton, and Richard Tee, with Patti Austin and Gwen Guthrie among more than a dozen backup singers.  The LP hit #1 on the R&B charts and #7 on the Billboard 200, and continued their string of platinum sellers, although neither of its two singles did well. 

The Ashford & Simpson-penned “Ride-O-Rocket” was released first, and then the LP’s very funky opening cut “Ain’t We Funkin’ Now,” which Louis co-wrote with his wife Valerie, his cousin Alex Weir, Quincy, and Tom Bahler, who wrote “She’s Out Of My Life” for Michael Jackson. Both singles stalled out at #45 R&B and couldn’t crack the Billboard Hot 100.

Also put out in an extended 12” single version, “Ain’t We Funkin’ Now” was unquestionably Blam!!’s biggest funk explosion. It’s puzzling as to why it didn’t chart higher.  George Johnson stated in a 2012 interview that he believed A&M deliberately chose not to promote the album’s singles, because Quincy was switching labels to Warner Bros. at the time, and they didn’t want the brothers following him there.  Owners Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss were also in the process of selling A&M to Polygram, which didn’t help.       

More info:

“Peace and blessings to the Brothers Johnson,” by David Goodson, New York Amsterdam News, May 29, 2015

“Louis Johnson, Bassist and Singer for the Brothers Johnson, Dies at 60,” by Daniel E. Slotnik, New York Times, May 31, 2015

#funk #soul #QuincyJones #BrothersJohnson #LouisJohnson